EUNICE, N.M. – Urenco USA announced today that it has successfully completed production of its first product cylinder of low-enriched uranium plus (LEU+). This is the first commercial production of LEU+ in the Western world and ushers in a new era of fuel options for existing light water reactors and new advanced reactor designs that will utilize higher levels of enriched uranium.
“A tremendous amount of work has gone into preparing our plant and our staff to reach this achievement,” said Jody Blackshear, Managing Director of Urenco USA. “Through the coordinated efforts of teams from across our site and company, we can now supply an innovative fuel option for our customers and support the next generation of nuclear fuel technologies.”
With the availability of LEU+, existing light water reactors will have the opportunity to operate for longer cycles, reducing the frequency of refueling outages, as well as operations and maintenance costs. Several advanced reactor technologies currently being developed will also utilize LEU+ as fuel, providing them an operating, reliable U.S. fuel source.
LEU+ can also serve as an important feedstock for producing high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) and will increase the amount of fuel a dedicated HALEU facility could produce, which will support deployment of other advanced reactor designs.
Urenco USA received authorization from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in September 2025, to enrich uranium up to 10% U-235, allowing the company to become the first commercial uranium enricher to produce LEU+. All the plant’s gas centrifuge cascades are licensed to produce LEU+, providing a flexible resource for meeting customers’ requirements.
Urenco USA is investing significantly in its New Mexico facility to expand its domestic enrichment production capacity to more than 7 million separative work units (SWU) over the next decade. To support this expansion, Urenco will begin construction of a new enrichment plant at the facility in 2029 and will install 2.1 million SWU of new enrichment capacity, with the initial cascades starting production in 2032 and additional cascades installed through 2036. This new capacity will also be available to produce LEU+.
Levels of Enriched Uranium
Natural uranium contains two primary isotopes, with more than 99% being U-238 and less than 1% being the fissionable U-235. Most commercial nuclear reactors operating today use fuel fabricated with low-enriched uranium (LEU), where the level of U-235 is raised to between 3-5%. In LEU+, the level of U-235 will be between 5-10%. HALEU will be enriched to between 10-20% and requires a dedicated facility and separate authorization from the NRC for production.
About Urenco USA
As America’s only commercial-scale producer of enriched uranium, Urenco USA operates the National Enrichment Facility, a strategic part of America’s energy infrastructure and nuclear fuel supply chain that began operations in 2010. The facility’s existing annual capacity of 4.3 million SWU can meet approximately one-third of current U.S. demand for low enriched uranium. More than 500 U.S. employees and long-term contractors work at the site.
With two decades of experience building and operating uranium enrichment capacity in the United States, Urenco USA is uniquely positioned to support U.S. utilities in meeting growing domestic energy needs and in strengthening U.S. energy security. Since its first product shipment in 2012, the company has delivered every customer order on time and to specification, representing more than 50 million SWU of production.
Urenco USA’s essential role in the domestic nuclear fuel supply chain supports the generation of reliable, secure, and sustainable energy for U.S. consumers and businesses. The company focuses on providing safe, cost-effective, and reliable uranium enrichment services for power generation, while working within a framework of high regulatory and safety standards. Urenco USA’s world-class facility in southeastern New Mexico plays a vital role in supporting U.S. energy production, energy security, jobs, and manufacturing. To learn more, visit www.urencousa.com.
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Contact:
Jeremy Derryberry
Director of Communications, Urenco USA
505-975-3844
This release was originally issued by Urenco USA and is being shared by the United States Nuclear Industry Council (USNIC) for informational purposes.
